Heel-seat-trimming tool



Sept. 24, 1929. J. WHELAN 1,729,234

HEEL SEAT TRIMMING TOOL Filed May 24, 1927 BY W ATTORNEY Patented Sept.24, 1929 I 1,729,234

UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES W'HELAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HARRY Li.

SUTCLIFFE, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

I-IEEL-SEAT-IIEIMMING TOGL Application filed May 24, 1927. Serial No.193 940.

My present invention relates generally to vantages, and one featureresides in the proshoe machinery, and has particular reference vision ofa cutter which is so constructed and Y to a heel seat trimn'iing tool.arranged that no lengthy accumulation and Before describing my inventionin detail, consequent compression and hardening of I will premise thatin the manufacture of shavings is possible. Briefly, my invention shoes,and particularly high-heeled ladies contemplates the provision ofyieldable plugshoes, it is customary to apply a strip of leathring orexpulsion means in association with er known as a heel seat to thebottom of the the bore so that the tool will be permitted to shoe beforeattaching the high heel thereto. operate in its usual etlicient mannerand yet ie The heel is generally made of wood, faced be constantlyretained in clean and uncloggcd with a thin layer of the same leatherwhich condition. constitutes the upper of the shoe, and it is es In oneembodiment, the plugging means sential that the heel be applied in sucha comprises a plunger or core reciprocably manner that nothing besidesthe heel mounted in the bore of the cutter and con- 15 facing and theshoe upper is visible after the stantly urged outwardly byresilient-means. shoe is completed. For this reason, the heel. Moreparticularly a compression spring acts is provided with a concave uppersurface, and upon the rear end of the plunger and in this the heel seatmust be shaped accordingly to way renders the latter yieldablyretractive present a somewhat convex surface adapted during the cuttingoperation while at the 20 to lit snugly into the concavity of the heel.same time any slight quantities of shavings The initial trimming of theheel seat around which may accumulate around the forward its edges toimpart thereto the convex surend of the plunger are automatically andposface mentioned is generally effected by a r itivcly expelled beforeany lengthy accumulatating cutter having a forward substantially tion orhardening thereof can take place. conical operative face provided with aset of Another feature of my invention has refradially arranged cuttingedges. In operaernce to the contour of the operative blades tion, thecutter is set into rapid rotation by or edges of the cutter. These edgesare submeans of a motor or the like, and it is then stantially radialbut not truly so, extending guided around the heel seat with the apex intangential directions from the periphery of so of the conical facetraveling around the pethe central bore referred to. The contour of soriphery of the heel seat. each edge has heretofore extended from thisThe manufacture of the cutter results in periphery in a gradual rearwardand con the provision of an axial bore or opening at cave sweep.Accordingly, since the tool is the apex of the cone, and in theoperation of guided substantially along the periphery of La the cutter,the shavings which are thrown out the heel being trimmed, the convexityimardly from the seat and hence toward the parted to the heel seatextends substantially apex of the cone accumulate and fill in this tothe edge thereof. As a result, it has hereaxial bore. The accumulationof. these shavtofore been necessary to treat the heel seat ings has beena great source of annoyance, infurther, even after the initial trimmingthereto asmuch as they gradually become compressed of, so that thewooden heel may be made nd hardened and eventually clog the bore to :fitsnugly thereon. This subsequent treatcomplctely. As a result, thecutters smooth ment is generally effected by a so-called and etlicientoperation becomes seriously immolding machine whose operation forces apaired in a very short time, and unless the obconcave die upon theentire heel seat and structing plug of hardened shavings is peritherebyclears the extreme periphery of the odically l6111OVG(l--l1l16 removalof which enheel seat definitely and positively of any tails a tediousand annoying series of stepsrough or raised portions which would interthe cutter becomes practically useless for perferewith the properseating of the heel.

""oiing its cont m lated purpose. My present invention provides cutter 7i on obviates tl? se disadwhese eperative edges are s: d that 199 themolding operation referred to may be entirely dispensed with. Accordingto my invention, each edge of the cutter has its innermost portionarranged along a plane perpendicular to the cutter axis. Thisconstruction also reduces the disadvantages heretofore encountered withrespect to the accumulation of shavings in the central bore.

For the attainment of the foregoing objects and such other objects asmay hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated one form ofmy invention in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a sideview of the rear portion of a shoe prior to the trimming of the heelseat, the latter and an illustrative heel being shown in cross-section;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the heel in final positionafter the heel seat has been trimmed;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged. view, similar to Figures 1 and 2, showing thecutter and heel seat in operative relationship just prior to the cuttingoperation;

Fig. 4: is a View similar to Fig. 3, showing the cutter in cross-sectionand in operative relationship to the trimmed heel seat;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of a heel seat in process oftrimming, the position of the cutter being shown in dotted lines, andthe path of travel of the apex thereof being indicated in dot and dashlines;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view upon a greatly enlargedscale of the apex of a cutter at the time of completion of a trimmingoperation; the cutter here shown being of the usual character; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 wherein a. cutter embodying a featureof the present invention is shown.

The body of the shoe being manufactured is designated generally by thereference numeral 10, it being understood that this body is retainedupon a suitable last throughout the operations hereinafter described. Athin strip of leather 11 is suitably ailixed to the bottom of the shoebody, and after trimming thereof, in accordance with the stepshereinafter to be described, a heel 12 is eventually applied. It will benoted that the upper surface 13 of the heel (the surface eventually tobe completely concealed) is concavely shaped, and accordingly, the heelseat 11 must be peripherally beveled or trimmed prior to the attachmentof the heel so that the latter will eventually assume a positionsubstantially as illustrated in Fig ure 2.

In Figures 8 and at I have illustrated the heel seat trimming tool whichmay comprise a spindle 14 suitably rotated by a motor or the like (notshown), and a rotatable cutter 15. The spindle 1 1 is provided with acollar 16 and an end portion 17 of reduced diameter and externallythreaded to receive the cutter 15 thereon in a removable manner.

The cutter has an internally threaded bore 18 extending from the rearsurface thereof, the threads being adapted to engage the threads of theend portion 1i" as shown in Figure 1-. In the form here shown, theforward or operative face of the cutter 15 substantially conical inshape and comprises a series of radially arranged cutting edges orblades 19, the contour of each blade being constructed in accordancewith the particular convexity desired upon the heel seat to be trimmed.Extending inwardly along an axial line. from the apex of the cone is abore or opening 20, considerably smaller than the main bore 18 butcommunicating therewith and merging thereinto by the conical surface 21.The outer mouth of the bore 20 is conically shaped, as indicated moreclearly in Figure 6, and the edges 19 extend rearwardly in a concavesweep from the periphery of the bore 20.

In the end of the spindle lt, T have pro vided an axial bore 22substantially equal in. diameter to that of the bore 20. lnto the bore22 I insert a small coil spring 28, and on top of this sprin a plunger24 is inserted of sufficient length to extend also into the bore 20. Theinner end of the plunger 2 is preferably attenuated to provide a supportfor the spring 23.

The plunger 24 is provided with a collar 25 between the bores 20 and 22,this collar limiting the reciprocating movability of the plunger byencountering either the front face of the projection 17 or the conicalsurface 21. The plunger and collar are so constructed that the forwardrounded tip of the plunger will just barely project out of the bore 20,as shown in Figure 3 and in dot and dash lines in Figure (3 when thetool is not in use. Furthermore, the retractive movement of the plungeris arranged to be limited so that the forward portion of the plungerwill in no event be withdrawn inwardly out of the bore 20.

In operation, the cutter 15 is mounted upon the spindle 1 1 and thelatter is set into rapid rotation by means of a motor or thelike.Suitable mechanism is provided for guiding the rotating spindle andcutter bodily along a predetermined or desired path. This guidingmechanism comprises an adjustable plate having a-substantially Ushapedslot therethrough. This plate is not illustrated, but is arranged inassociation with the upper end of the spindle 14. At this upper end, acollar is mounted upon the spindle 1 1-, and the slot is of a width coextensive with the diameter of the collar so that the movement of thespindle will be defined by the slot. The shoe body bearing the heel seatto be trimmed is suitably clamped in the inverted position illustratedin the drawings, and to protect the upper of the shoe body, a metallicplate or wiper 26 is wedged beneath the heel seat 11 around theperiphery thereof. It will be understood that the wiper 26, forming nopart of the present invention, may be of any suitable or usualconstruction or design, and will probably comprise at least twocooperating plates, suitably shaped and movable, to protect the upper ofthe shoe around the entire periph ery of the heel seat.

The rotating tool is then brought into operative relationship withrespect to the heel seat, and is guided in an arcuate or U-shaped pathsubstantially as indicated by the dot and dash line 27 of Figure 5. Itwill be noted that the apex of the conical operative face of the tool isguided along a line substantially coincident with, or closely skirting,the periphery of the heel seat. During this guided movement of thecutter, a bevel 28 is imparted to the heel seat, and it will beunderstood that this operation may be effected in a very few secondsbecause of the rapid rotation of the cutter and by virtue of thesuitable slot guide means for the spindle.

Reference to Figure 4: will clearly show that the complete trimmingoperation necessitates a retractive movement of the plunger so that theforward tips of the edges 19 and the forward rounded tip 29 of theplunger lie in substantially the same plane. The fine shavings producedby the operation of the cutter and thrown outwardly toward theperipheral path of travel of the cone apex have heretofore accumulatedin the bore 20, but in accordance with the present invention, no room isafforded for any accumulation other than a slight amount in the spacebetween the plunger tip 29 and the extreme outer portion of the bore 20.If the plunger were permanently fixed in the position of Figure 4, eventhis slight accumulation of shavings would in a very short time producethe same disadvantageous effects that have heretofore been encountered.Inasmuch as the plunger is reciprocably mounted, however, and inasmuchas its normal position is the one shown in Figure 3 and in dot and dashlines in Figure 6, wherein it projects slightly from the bore, whatevershavings may have accumulated are automatically and positively expelledafter each operation of the tool. In other words, after each heel seathas been beveled or trimmed, the entire spindle is removed from the shoebody to permit the withdrawal of the latter and the substitution of asucceeding untrimmed heel seat; and as the spindle and cutter arethuswithdrawn, the spring 23 exerts its out wardly pressing force toproject the plunger into its normal forward position, thereby ejectingwhatever shavings may have accumulated around the tip 29. As a result ofthis automatic ejection, the tool is rendered efficiently operative foreach cutting operation, and any changing of cutters for purposes ofcleaning is rendered wholly unnecessary.

It will be understood that the phase of my invention heretoforedescribed in greater detail, i. e., the phase which relates to themovable plunger, is quite independent of the other phase of my inventionwhich I shall presently describe.

In Figure 7, I have shown a cutter 15 provided with a cutting edge whoseinnermost portion 30 is perpendicular to the axis of the cutter. Theedges of the cutter 15 therefore define or lie in the surface of asubstantially truncated cone. The provision of a cutter of thischaracter permits the elimination of the conical end portion of the bore20 and accordingly reduces the small space around the tip 29 of theplunger wherein shavings accumulate. The provision of such a cutter alsoenables the molding operation heretofore performed upon initiallytrimmed heel seats to be entirely dispensed with. For the purpose ofclearly depicting the latter advantage, I have shown the cutters ofFigures 6 and 7 in similar positions with respect to wipers 26 and 26and shoe uppers 31 and 31. It will be noted that the heel seat 11 ofFigure 6 embodies a convexity which extends further toward the edge ofthe heel seat than the convexity of the heel seat 11 of Figure 7. Theheel seat 11 of Figure 6 will. probably have to be molded in order toaccommodate the close application of the wooden heel; whereas no suchmolding operation will be necessary with respect to the heel seat 11.

Although I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to acutter for trimming or beveling heel seats, nevertheless it will beunderstood that an application of this character is not essential.Furthermore, I do not mean to limit myself to the particular type ofplunger illustrated and described, the shape and arrangement of theplunger and spring means being variable to suit varying requirements. Ingeneral, it will be obvious that many changes in the details hereindescribed and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of myinvention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims. It is therefore intended that these details be interpreted asillustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a trimming toolof the character described, a spindle having an axial bore in its end, aspring in said bore, an end-thrust cutter detachably applicable to saidend to rotate with the spindle, said cutter having an axial boretherethrough, and a plunger reciprocably mounted in said bores and urgedoutwardly by said spring.

2. In a trimming tool of the character described, a spindle having anaxial bore in its end, a spring in said bore, an end-thrust cutterdetachably applicable to said end to rotate with the spindle, saidcutter having an axial bore therethrough, a plunger reciprocably mountedin said bores and outwardly urged by said spring, and a shoulderarranged on said plunger between said bores for limiting the reciprocalmovement of the plunger.

3. A heel seat trimming tool of the character described comprising arotatable cutter- Whose forward operative surface is provided with aseries of substantially radial cutting edges, each edge having itsinnermost portion perpendicular to the axis of the cutter, and thebalance thereof concaved, whereby there may be imparted to a heel seat acontour which is marginally plane and otherwise convex.

In witness whereof, I have signed this specification this 23 day of May,1927.

J AMES WHELAN.

